The Return of Battle City
by Charolette Ink
Summary: Welcome to the tournament of the century! The best duelists in the world are now gathered here for the chance to be crowned Duel Champion! So, do you have what it take?
1. Chapter 1

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_A Tournament in the Making! A Series of Unlikely Happenings!_

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"And you lose, just I predicted," Astral stated.

"Shut up!" Yuma shouted. "Maybe if you helped me I wouldn't have lost!"

"Maybe if you listened to my advice you would have won. Yet, you were stubborn and insisted that you could win the duel by yourself. The end result, Tetsuo won. I believe the term "getting creamed" is appropriate here, am I right?"

Yuma boiled with anger for a moment. He continued to yell at Astral a little more, but was stopped as Kotori approached him.

"Yuma, I think it's about time we should go home," she said.

"Aww, can't we have just one more duel?" Yuma whined. "Besides, isn't not even that late. Please! It'll be a quick duel! I promise!"

"Go home Yuma," Tetsuo shouted. He had already begun walking away back to his house. "You're not the only one who has to get home. Besides, don't you have that paper assigned from last week to finish? It's due tomorrow."

Yuma screeched. He had completely forgotten about that paper. It was just that dueling was a lot more interesting and it wasn't a two page essay. Yuma could feel a drop of sweat animate beside him as he calmed down from his little episode.

"Hey Kotori, can you help me out with my paper?"

Kotori sighed. "Fine, I'll help you," she told Yuma with irritation. The boy cheered and thanked Kotori for her help. She chuckled at Yuma. "Calm down, I'm not writing your paper. Now, how far have you gotten in the essay?"

Yuma gave a nervous chuckle. "Well you see…" Kotori glared at Yuma for an answer. The boy made a choking sound and nervously laughed again. "I kinda haven't started it yet."

"Oi Yuma." Kotori face palmed and shook her head. "Do you at least have an idea what you're going to do?" Yuma shook his head. "Do you even know what you're supposed to be writing about?" Kotori received the same response. "Geez Yuma." She sighed. "Well, I'll still help you out, but you'll only get a B at best."

"Thank you Kotori!" Yuma cheered gratefully and bounced up and down with joy.

The green haired girl smiled and began to head home. Yuma caught up with his friend as he finished cheering. An orange sky accompanied the two on their route home as Kotori gave Yuma ideas for his essay. Yuma half listened to Kotori. He was still caught up in his duel with Tetsuo.

_I'll beat him someday,_ he thought. _And then, I'll become Duel Champion. I'll win every tournament I'll enter. Hmm, I wonder when one will show in the future._

Yuma glance over at Kotori to see if she noticed that he dazed off. Luckily, she hadn't. The boy listened in on Kotori's speech and waited for the perfect moment to jump in.

"I know it's cliché, but you could write about how England and France are enemies. That would probably be the easiest way out of this report. A good way to get rid of some space is to talk about Joan of Arc and the 100 Year War. That would show a lot of turmoil between the two countries," Kotori explained.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Yuma jumped in. "Hey Kotori, do you know of any duel tournaments coming up in the future?"

Kotori sighed. _He's gotten bored._

"No, I haven't heard of any. But I know the World Duel Carnival is held every year. Maybe it'll be somewhere close by and you could compete!" Kotori offered.

"Yeah! That'd be awesome! I'd show everyone my Kattobingu!" Yuma shouted.

Kotori chuckled. This guy always had the greatest enthusiasm. The two walked together for a while longer until their routes split. Kotori left Yuma with a few more guidelines for his report and a promise to call and help him. Yuma gave a simple agreement in return and left on his own route home.

He walked down the street alone. Yuma began to stall his arrival to home by gazing into various stores and looking at random TV screens with their advertisements. To Yuma, the sooner he got home was the sooner he would have to start his report. Starting it a little later would hurt at all, would it?

"No way!"

"Is this really happening?"

"Holy God, it's a miracle!"

Yuma stopped in his tracks and deviated from his path to figure out what all of the commotion was about. A heard of people were gathered around the window of a TV store mesmerized by a particular advertisement. Yuma fought his way to the front of the crowd to figure out what was going on. By the time Yuma finally made it to the front of the crowd the ad was nearly finished. However, the immense joy Yuma felt did not fall short as he listened to the strict tone of Seto Kaiba in his announcement.

"_So do you have what it takes to win Battle City?"_

The screen flashed to a new commercial and the crowd scurried away. Yuma continued to stand and stare at the screen. Could this be true? Is there really going to be a new Battle City tournament?

Astral hovered around Yuma. He looked at the frozen boy with curiosity. "Hmm, do humans have the ability to prevent all movement when amazed? That's quite a draw back."

Yuma couldn't even hear Astral. His mind was running with thoughts. What would he do with his deck? Where is the tournament? Thoughts like this and more swirled in Yuma's head. The only thing he was able to do was squeal like a fangirl.

Astral blinked. "Oh dear, I think he's broken."

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Was this a dream? Because it surely isn't a reality. Yuma was sitting in his seat making absolutely _no noise_. More unbelievable than that was the fact that he was _early_ to class. Tsukumo Yuma was _early_ to class.

"Kotori, am I seeing things?"Tetsuo asked.

"I'm not sure if this is actually real or not," Takashi said.

"This can't be real, nya," Cathy added.

"Ahhh! What even is this!?" Tokunosuke yelled. He ran up to Yuma and began shaking him by the collar. "Yuma! Are you in there? Can you hear me? Have the Numbers taken over your soul? Is it forcing you to be early? Where is the real Yuma you foul beast?"

Kotori yanked the small boy by the back of his collar and freed Yuma. "You're gonna break him Tokunosuke."

"You guys are finally here! I've been waiting to tell you guys this since last night!" Yuma brightly said. It was as if he wasn't even violently shaken.

_Well he makes fast recoveries,_ everyone else thought.

"Well, what's the big news?" Kotori asked.

A smile larger than Yuma's losing streak spread across his face. "The Return of Battle City."

"What?" The group shouted.

"Where did you hear about this Yuma?" Tetsuo asked.

"Wow, there's really gonna be another Battle City tournament!" Takashi said in awe.

"That's right! I saw a commercial last night! It was the Kaiba Seto making the announcement himself!" Yuma explained. "This is gonna be awesome! We should all sign up right now!"

Everyone agreed. Takashi pulled out his D-Pad and quickly found the official site for the Return of Battle City. The class rep read the crucial information on the screen.

"It's being held in Neo Domino two weeks from now. The preliminaries are during the whole week, which means during school. I'm pretty sure we could get excused though," Takashi said. The smile on the class rep's face quickly morphed into a frown as he read the qualifications on the screen. "A tournament for only the best duelists in the world. Invitation only."

Takashi's frown soon spread to all of his friends. Yuma moaned in great disappointment.

"But I was so excited for this!" he cried out.

"Well, it's not really a surprise. Battle City has always been invitation only," Takashi sadly explained. "How did I forget about that detail? Everyone who competed in the tournaments had some kind of impressive victory under their belt."

"But what about those Egyptian people who were in the finals during the first Battle City? I don't even remember their names! That's how little of a record they had!" Yuma yelled as he shook Takashi back and forth.

"Well, I don't think they got into the tournament completely legally," Takashi said in a daze from being shaken up (no one could recover like Yuma).

"Then that's how we'll get into the tournament!" Yuma declared. "We can all head out to Neo Domino and get into the tournament like those guys did! Then we'll be the underdogs like Joey Wheeler!"

"There are a few problems with that Yuma," Kotori told him. The boy tilted his head in confusion. "First of all how do expect us to sneak away from home to enter the tournament?" A cloud of gloom hung over Yuma's head. "Also, Joey Wheeler was legally put into the tournament and lost to one of the guys who snuck in. So the analogy isn't really that good."

Yuma sunk his head low as his cloud of gloom stormed above him. This was very disappointing.

"All right everyone, take your seats," Ukyo-sensei said. "Now, is everyone ready for the test?"

Yuma smacked his head into the desk and moaned out of pain and forgetting to study. "Today just keeps getting worse and worse!"

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After the "Waking up and getting to school early" apocalypse, things were getting back to normal. In other words, Yuma was making a mad dash to school. He was going to be late again. Even though he was early yesterday, he'd still get detention if he was late today.

Yuma jumped down a set of stairs and nearly fell in the process. He managed to recover quickly and regained his speed. If he kept up this pace he'd make it to school in just enough time. However, that is by the chance no more obstacle come in his way.

Yuma closed his eyes in hope that it would give him more speed. At first, it seemed to be working. The problem was that Yuma couldn't see where he was going. Since he couldn't see anything, Yuma hit something like a brick wall.

"Oww," Yuma said. He opened his eyes to make sure he didn't actually hit a brick wall. Thankfully, he didn't hit a brick wall, but instead a person who could potentially erase him off of the face of the earth and no one would ever find him.

The boy Yuma ran into rubbed the back of his head. He chuckled. "Hey, mind opening your eyes when you run that fast again? It's usually the courtesy to warm someone in your way when you can't stop."

Yuma's eyes widened. He stared intensely at the boy, who felt very uncomfortable in return. Yuma scanned the boy up and down to make sure he had the right person in his mind. The light, dusty purple hair, the onyx eyes, pale skin, and he even wore his trademark red suit (white shirt, black tie and all).

"Y-you're Peg-" Yuma began to shout before his mouth was covered by the boy.

"Shhh. I don't want to drag any attention to myself," the boy said. He scanned the area carefully making sure no one else was around. The boy sighed and removed his hand from Yuma's mouth. He extended his hand toward Yuma. "I'm Max Pegasus. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Yuma stared at the boy's hand for a moment to make sure it was real. The son of Maximillion Pegasus was really in front of him right now! Yuma grabbed Max's hand and shook in violently.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to run into you since you're probably so busy and everything!" Yuma apologized. "Ahh, let me help you up!"

Yuma hopped up from the ground and yanked Max up. He wasn't ready for that to happen and almost fell over again. Thankfully, Yuma caught him.

"Eheh, sorry about that again!" Yuma said.

Max chuckled. "It's no problem! Besides, I'm kinda of used to being struck down."

Yuma blinked twice. "What do you mean by that?"

Max nervously laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, I always manage to get struck down by all of the ladies."

"Whaaa? But you're you!" Yuma said in shock. "Talk about bad luck, but I don't believe those words one bit." Yuma his arm on Max like a rest. "Come on, you must be choosing the wrong girls. Am I right or am I right?"

"I suppose you're right. That's what Arishia always tells me at least," Max replied.

"Wait, Arishia? As in Kaiba Arishia?" Yuma asked with excitement.

"The one and only," Max said with a smile. "She should be around here… somewhere… Haha, I'm not quite sure where she went off to. She told me she was trying to find something. Or was it someone?" Max sighed. "I'm not really sure. She just kinda ran off shouting something about finding. That's all I honestly remember."

"Awww, I was hoping I'd get to meet her too!" Yuma whined. "It would've been so cool to meet two dueling legends in the same day!"

"Dueling legend?" Max repeated in English. "Oh no, that's not me. Just Arishia, and basically her entire family and most of the people she knows, but not me."

"What? Are you kidding me? You have to be a great duelist! Didn't your dad create the game?" Yuma said.

"Yes, Dad's the one who created the game. _He's_ one of the best duelists I've ever seen, but _I'm_ only his son," Max stated.

"But didn't you inherit any of that dueling spirit from him?" Yuma asked.

"I'm his _adoptive_ son. I didn't inherit a thing from him," Max told Yuma.

"I'm calling bull on that," Yuma said. "You guys may not be related, but you might as well be. You look a lot like him, you dress like him, you might as well be designing cards you two are so similar!"

"I actually do design Duel Monsters cards." Yuma laughed nervously. Maybe he should've listened during class when dueling was actually the subject matter. "You are right though. Dad and I have a lot in common. If my eyes were brown you might as well say I was his biological offspring. But still, I'm a bad duelist!"

"Shut up!" Max's eyes widened as he heard Yuma yell. "I'm not gonna listen to you talk about yourself like that! Do you have a Duel Disk on you?"

"Yeah, bu-"

"How about a deck and a D-Gazer?"

"Of course, at all times. Wha-"

"My name is Tsukumo Yuma! Let's duel!"

"What?!"

"You heard me!" Yuma ran away from Max to set the field. He threw his D-Gazer in the air. "D-Gazer, set!"

"I guess so," Max said with a sigh and set his own black-rimmed D-Gazer. Numbers from the programs flew across the white lens as the duel settings activated.

"Duel Disk, set!" Yuma yelled and, as he said, set his Duel Disk. Max followed his lead.

"Wow! You're Duel Disk is so cool!" Yuma said noting the deviation of design from the standard model. The frame of the Duel Disk was a thick black line that looked like a picture frame around a white canvas. The only art on the canvas a unique black M.

"It's a custom model. Anyone can get one," Max told Yuma

"Really? That's so cool!"

"Can we just get this over with? I'm just gonna lose."

Yuma pouted for a moment. "Fine."

"Duel!"

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A/N: I'm so excited for this! I've wanted to write this story for a long time, but I kept putting it off. However, since Zexal is getting so far into everything I decided to start now. In short, this is my little rendition of Zexal, but I promise not to follow the original plot exactly.

Also, the next chapter is my first duel! Please, feel free to point out any major mistakes within the duel. I only know how to duel from the show and a quick glance at the rules.

Right now, this is taking place before the World Duel Carnival which means Yuma can't duel that well. Don't be mad if he loses any duels!

Leave a review and tell me how you think this will go! Tsukumo Yuma vs. Max Pegasus, who will win?

I hope you all enjoyed!


	2. Chapter 2

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_Battle Against the Discouraged Duelist. Yuma vs. Max Pegasus!_

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_**Original Cards: Bold/Italics**_

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"Pegasus Max. Son of Pegasus Maximillion, the creator of Duel Monsters and one of the best duelists alive. Do you honestly believe you can defeat an opponent like him?" Astral asked.

"When am I gonna get the chance to duel someone like him again? Besides," Yuma smirked. "I'll never know if I can beat him unless I try!"

"Duel!"

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_Yuma:_ _4000_

_Max:__ 4000_

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"I'll go first!" Yuma announced and drew a card. "I summon Gogogo Golem in defense mode!"

The golem rose from the ground and positioned itself to defend from the impending attack.

"Turn end!"

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Gogogo Golem: ATK 1800/DEF 1500

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"Interesting. You decided to go on the defensive this time," Astral observed. "This isn't your style. However, it seems you are preparing for your opponent's attack. I can't believe you're actually using your brain for this duel."

Yuma growled at Astral. "I know what I'm doing! I do know how to duel!"

"I haven't noticed."

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_Yuma:__ 4000_

_Max:__ 4000_

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"My turn! Draw!" Max announced. He narrowed his eyes at Yuma's monster. _Gogogo Golem. Thanks to the ability, its destruction can be avoided once per turn. So, you think you can get another monster of the same level out by your next turn and Xyz summon? It's not that hard to get rid of a monster you know._

"I summon Dryad in attack mode!" The spellcaster rose from the ground and glared over toward Yuma's side of the field.

"Now, I activate the spell card _**Description Error**_! With this card, I can eliminate one of the requirements to summon a monster out onto the field," Max explained. "I sacrifice my Dryad and summon the Toon Dark Magician Girl!"

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Toon Dark Magician Girl: ATK 2000/ DEF 1700

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"Wow! I can't believe you really have that card!" Yuma exclaimed. "I thought your dad was the only one to have that card! Did he give it to you or something?"

Max smiled. "Well, he'd never do something like that! I may be a rich kid, but I work for what I want as well. And if working for something you want means making a certain card yourself, then I worked hard for this card!"

"Really? You made that card yourself?" Yuma asked in amazement.

"Well I didn't start out making my own cards," Max said. "Now, Toon Dark Magician Girl, attack Gogogo Golem!"

The cartoon magician flew over to Yuma's side of the field and blasted Gogogo Golem with her magic. However, the golem remained on the field. Toon Dark Magician Girl pouted as she saw Gogogo Golem still standing.

"Nice one!" Yuma told Max. "But Gogogo Golem's effect prevents it from being destroyed in battle once per turn when it's in defense mode."

"I'm quite aware of that effect," Max informed Yuma. "I activate the spell card _**Magician Tricks**_ from my hand! First off, it boosts the attack strength of one spellcaster monster by 300 points when activated!"

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Toon Dark Magician Girl: ATK 2300/DEF 1700

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"And since I didn't destroy your monster when I last attacked and Toon Dark Magician Girl is a spellcaster, I get to attack you again!" Max said. "Toon Dark Magician Girl, attack Gogogo Golem!"

Once again, the cartoon magician girl flew over and blasted Gogogo Golem with her magic.

"By the way, thanks to _**Magician Tricks**_ my monster can inflict piercing damage for this turn," Max told Yuma.

As Gogogo Golem was destroyed, Yuma was blown backward and hit the ground.

"I set one card down and end my turn," Max said.

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_Yuma:_ _3200_

_Max:__ 4000_

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"He's quite the opponent, as to be expected. To be honest, I wouldn't have set any cards in my previous turn with Gogogo Golem in defense mode. At least now we truly know what we're dealing with in this situation," Astral said.

"He's really good!" Yuma said to himself. "This is gonna be a great duel! I'm gonna show this guy all of my Kattobingu spirit! My turn, draw!"

Yuma set his new card in his hand and examined the other cards for a moment. "I summon Gagaga Magician in defense mode and place one card face down! I end my turn!"

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Gagaga Magician: ATK 1500/DEF 1000

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_What could you be trying Yuma? _Max wondered.

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_Yuma:__ 3200_

_Max:__ 4000_

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"My turn! I draw!" Max said. "Toon Dark Magician Girl, attack Gagaga Magician!"

The cartoon magician smiled as she blasted magic toward her opponent with her staff.

"I activate my trap card, Half Unbreak!" Yuma announced. "Now, I only take half of the battle damage and my monster isn't destroyed! And since Gagaga Magician was in defense mode, I take no damage!"

"It's a miracle. He knows math," Astral said. Thanks to Yuma's listening skills, the spirit wouldn't have to hear a single complaint from the boy after that comment.

"Nice job. You're a pretty good duelist," Max complimented.

"Thanks! You're pretty great yourself!" Yuma replied. Max's faced was strained as if he wanted to correct his opponent. Yuma laughed as he saw Max's face. "Come on, you are beating me, aren't you? I would have never thought of using a magic card like that!"

Max's eyes widened as he spoke with embarrassment. "Now don't you kid yourself! I'm just getting lucky, that's all!"

Yuma chuckled. This kid may not think he's any good, but at least he was having a lot of fun. Even though he couldn't read the mood, Yuma could read anyone through a duel.

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_Yuma:_ _3200_

_Max:__ 4000_

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"I draw!" Yuma shouted. "I summon Gagaga Girl in attack mode!" The young female magician flew onto the field with her cell phone in hand. "Now, I activate Gagaga Thunder from my hand! When I have two Gagaga monsters on the field, I can damage you by 300 points times the level difference of my two monsters!"

Gagaga Magician and Gagaga girl combined their powers and hurled a wave of magic toward Max. He skidded across the ground as the magic hit him, but stayed on his feet.

"I'm not done yet!" Yuma said. "I activate Gagaga Magician's effect to change its level from four to three! Now I can overlay level 3 Gagaga Magician and Gagaga Girl to form the overlay network! Come on out, Muzurhythm the String Djinn!"

From the overlay portal, a dark monster came out and strummed the unique guitar in its hand as glowing orbs flew around it.

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Muzurhythm the String Djinn: Overlay Units 2/ATK 1500/DEF 1000

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"Muzurhythm, attack Max's Toon Dark Magician Girl!" Yuma ordered.

_Here comes the effect,_ Max thought as the Djinn strummed a chord on his guitar.

"Now I can activate its effect! When I attack my opponent's monster, I can detach one overlay unit to double the attack points of a Djinn monster." Yuma explained. One of the small orbs around the monster flew into Muzurhythm's guitar and got abosorbed. The monster strummed again, sending an attack toward Max.

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Muzurhythm the String Djinn: Overlay Units 1/ATK 3000/DEF 1000

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"Very clever, but my toon isn't going anywhere yet!" Max said. "I activate my trap card, Negate Attack. I'm pretty sure you can figure out what this means."

"That's highly unlikely," Astral commented.

"I know what negate means!" Yuma defended himself. "I end my turn."

"How should I know? You can't even think over simple math before recklessly attacking," Astral said. "If you had used Gagaga Magician's effect to raise its level to 10 before activating Gagaga Thunder you could have inflicted 2100 points of damage instead of just 300."

"Shut up!" Yuma barked. "Besides, I got an Xyz monster out there."

"And it could very well be your downfall."

"Grrr."

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Muzurhythm the String Djinn: Overlay Units 1/ATK 1500/DEF 1000

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_Yuma:__ 3200_

_Max:__ 3700_

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"My turn, draw!" Max said. He smiled at the new card in his hand. "I summon _**Animation**_to the field!"

A large grey blob flopped onto the field. The blob shifted and spun around as if it was being manipulated like clay.

Yuma made a face at the moving blob on the field. "What kind of monster is that? It doesn't have any attack or defense points!"

"That's right," Max said. "Also, you can notice it doesn't have a rank either, which is where its effect comes in. With _**Animation's**_ effect, it can take the on the form and characteristic of any monster on the field. I chose for it to take on Toon Dark Magician Girl's form!"

The blob spun around rapidly and morphed into a black and white version of the Toon Dark Magician Girl.

"The only downside with this is that _**Animation**_only gets half of the attack and defense points of the monster it takes form of," Max explained.

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_**Animation**__:_ ATK 1150/DEF 1350

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"Not that it really matters now," Max said. "I overlay my level 6 _**Animation**_ and Toon Dark Magician Girl to construct the overlay network. Now, come on out, Magi Magi*Magician Girl!"

A female magician emerged from the network portal and the two overlay units hovered around her. The magician's appearance was very similar to the Dark Magician girl. Her attire was dark and she wore a serious look on her face.

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Magi Magi*Magician Gal: Overlay Units 2/ATK 2400/DEF 2000

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Max smirked. "I believe luck is on my side today. I use one overlay unit to activate Magi Magi's effect! With this, I'll be taking one of your monsters until the end of the turn. Since you only have one, Muzurhythm the String Djinn is mine until the end of this turn!"

The magician girl used her staff to absorb one of the overlay units orbiting around her. She waved the staff in the air and then brought it down toward Muzurhythm. A dark, sparkling magic came from the rod and encased the enemy monster in rope like binds. Magi Magi pulled her staff back to break the line and finish her spell. Within seconds, Muzurhythm floated over to Max's field.

Max smiled. "Not that you'll get it back after this turn. Since I took your monster, your field is wide open. Muzurhythm attack Yuma directly!"

The string monster strummed its guitar and sent a powerful wave of music Yuma's way. As the sound waves collided with Yuma, he was sent to the ground.

"Now Magi Magi*Magician Gal, finish him off!" Max commanded.

The magician girl spun the staff in her hand before aiming at Yuma. A wave of magic launched from the staff and headed straight for Yuma. The boy looked up from the ground as the beam headed straight for him. As the beam struck the Yuma, he was sent backwards and his life points hit zero.

A buzzer went off and the AR vision faded away.

Max removed his D-Gazer and sighed loudly. "I can't believe I actually won that."

"Aw come on! You're really still on about that?"

Max looked up and jumped as he saw Yuma right in front of him. "Well you recover fast," he said with shock.

"Do you really think you're a bad duelist?" Yuma asked. "That duel was awesome! Don't you think it was fun?"

"Well of course he had fun," a girl answered. The heels on her boots clicked as she walked up to the boys with her arms crossed. "It's always great when your personal cards help you win a duel. I suppose you could compare it to winning one of those card design competitions."

Yuma's eyes widened. "Is it really reality that you're you?"

The girl blinked. "I think you need to think before you speak."

"But if I think I'll run out of time if I think!" Yuma shouted. "I'll never get a chance to talk to you again! You're Kai-"

The girl choked Yuma with his tie. However, the boy was still amazed who he was talking to. The girl stood slightly taller than Yuma. She wore an attire oddly similar to her father's which consisted of black pants and a matching three-quarter sleeve shirt. The only color on the outfit was the silver vest and the belt buckle. What really drew Yuma's attention was the family resemblance. It was obvious the hair tied up in a high pony tail (save for two strands in the front) was the same color as her father's. But the girl's most striking feature were the deep blue eyes glaring at Yuma.

"I suggest you shut up before you say something you'll regret," the girl threatened and released Yuma.

The boy panted to regain his breath. "This is awesome!" He loudly whispered. "You're Kaiba Arishia!"

"I know and I thought I told you to shut up," the Kaiba girl shot at Yuma.

"Come on Arishia! He's a fan," Max said.

"And most fans are annoying," Arishia stated. "However, I'd like to say I'm impressed you actually got Max to duel you. He can be such a downer when it comes to dueling."

Yuma chuckled. "It was nothing! I love dueling! Hey, we should duel right now! I'll show you my Kattobingu spirit!"

"Kattobingu?" Arishia repeated. "What's that?"

"Yeah, I think you said that during our duel. What is that?" Max added.

Yuma smiled. "It's to never give up and face all of the challenges brought to you and to always believe in yourself."

"Interesting," Arishia said. "Anyway, I'm going to have to decline your proposition to duel me. You couldn't beat Max, so it won't be a challenge for me. Besides, he wasn't even trying in that duel."

Yuma slumped in misery. He really wanted to duel Arishia. Now that would've been another great challenge.

"I was trying. I'm just not that good," Max complained.

"Really? Honestly, we both know you could have finished that duel in two turns with that Toon effect. You know, the one that lets you attack an opponent directly even if they have monsters on the field." Arishia said.

"I can't win all of my duels with something like that. It's almost like cheating," Max mumbled.

"Cheating? Your father has a whole deck of Toons and uses that effect to his advantage. It's nothing more than that: advantage," Arishia told Max. "Besides, if you want to say you're cheating you could do something slightly more reasonable like the cards you created."

"But a duelist should be able to figure a way out of card effects he's never heard of, right?" Yuma asked.

"That's right," Max said. "So Arishia, did you find whatever you were looking for?"

"Well I found smoothies. Indirectly, I found a great place for our announcement. There were some kids from Heartland Middle School who decided to ditch at the smoothie place. I managed to get them in serious trouble. That was pretty cool," Arishia explained.

Yuma screamed. "I completely forgot during that duel! I have to get to school! I'm so late!"

Yuma began to bolt off, hoping he could get the teachers (and possibly some students) that he was late because he ran into Max Pegasus and Arishia Kaiba. Suddenly, the choking sensation returned to Yuma's neck as Arishia caught hold of his tie.

"Slow down if you don't won't to get detention," the Kaiba girl said. She released Yuma. "So kid, you like challenges right?" Arishia smirked at Yuma. "How would you like a chance to compete in the Return of Battle City?"

Yuma's eyes looked like a baby panda. "Really?"

"This weekend Max and I are holding a duel tournament. The grand prize, plane tickets to Neo Domino City and an invitation to Battle City. There are going to be plenty of people trying to win this tournament. Who wouldn't want an opportunity to participate in a tournament like this? Are you up for a challenge?" Arishia asked.

"Yes ma'am!"

"That's what I like to hear. Now, if you would show me to your school, which I'm assuming is Heartland Middle School, I'll tell you more about the tournament."

"Of course!" Yuma replied.

"Perfect." Arishia turned to Max. "You'll head over to Heartland Tower and confirm our arrangement, right?"

"Of course," Max answered. "And I'll extend invitations to your dad's tournament to the two who agreed to help us scope out the better duelists signing up for out tournament."

"Then I'll see you later." Arishia turned back to Yuma. "Now, you can show me the way to your school and I'll give you a sneak peak of the tournament."

Yuma smiled brightly. "Okay! Follow me!"

As told, Arishia followed Yuma as he headed toward school. There were a million things he wanted to ask the Kaiba girl, but she kind of choked him the last few times. Well, one question couldn't hurt…

"So um, Arishia-san, or er, Kaiba-chan, I mean no! Ahh! Forgive me Kaiba-san-sama!" Yuma spat out. Apparently addressing this girl was more nerve wracking than the fear of getting choked by asking a question.

Lucky for Yuma, Arishia chuckled at his foolishness. "I think you should learn your honorifics a little better. Call me what you see fit, but nothing endearing."

"All right!" Yuma replied.

"Now, I don't mean to interrupt your question, but I haven't caught your name," Arishia said.

Yuma smiled. "I'm Tsukumo Yuma! Future duel champion!"

Arishia raised an eyebrow. "Oh really now? You couldn't even beat Max, and he's one of the best duelists I know. And considering there a multiple members of my family who are world renowned duelists… Well, you can figure out the rest."

Yuma laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Then I'll just have to get better and make it to the top!"

"That's a good way to look at it," Arishia commented. "Now, I believe you had a question."

"Oh yeah! How is this tournament going to work? Is it only one day, or a lot of days? There's gonna be a lot of people signing up for sure and-"

"Question, not _questions_," Arishia interrupted. "Anyway, the way we're going to hold an actual tournament is simple. On the day of the tournament, there will be various stations where you can duel. All duels start at 8 a.m. sharp. There will be an area you are assigned to and will be expected to be there on time. From there you will duel a bot, or possibly an actual person, and from those duels top eight will go on to compete against actual people.

"However, there will be more than eight people in the finals. This is going to be a tag duel tournament and the winning team members will both receive prize."

"It's a tag duel tournament?" Yuma jumped with excitement. This just sounded so cool! "Wait, that means another one of my friends can come along with me to Neo Domino!"

"Well make it a wise choice. You need someone you work well with and is also a good duelist," Arishia advised. "It would be best if you had some practice with the person you want to work with. A tag duel may seem easy, but it's quite different than a normal duel."

Yuma nodded excitedly. _Who should I chose? Tetsuo would make a great partner, but so would Cathy. Oh, maybe I can get Shark to tag up with me! That would be great!_

"So is this the school?" Arishia asked.

Yuma blinked and looked up. He hadn't even realized they had already made it to the school. "Yeah, this is it. Welcome to Heartland Middle School!"

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A/N: And I give you my first duel! How was it? That's all I'm worrying about right now, but I'll still love reviews not regarding the duel! (I'm a review happy person)

Hopefully these chapters will get longer as I go along. These first two chapters seem so short compare to my other story (each chapter being 6,000+ words). I don't think it's a bad length though.

I would also like to note that this will be a slight AU. The reason for that is because I have never watched 5Ds. Please don't shoot me. I needed to find out if Zexal was really as bad as certain people were making it seem. I already knew that 5Ds was awesome from lots of comments ranking all of the series, so I didn't feel the need to watch it yet. When this story first came into my mind, my brain made it take place not too long after GX. To justify the messed up Yugioh timeline in my head, we'll just say it's a slight AU.

(Note: Yugioh wasn't a part of my childhood except the first episode of GX. I started watching it a year or two ago because of Yugioh the Abridged Series. This is my explanation for not seeing 5Ds whenever it came out. Really long explanation, but I feel like I had to say that.)

Well, long author's note aside, what are you expecting for chapters to come? I hope you all enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

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_Spread the Word! A Tournament is Coming!_

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"Late again Yuma," Uyko-sensei said as the boy entered the room. "I hate to do this, but unless you have a valid excuse, this is a detention."

Arishia's heels clicked as she stepped into the room with a practiced smile. "If you don't have an issue with it, I'd like vouch for Yuma. Uyko-sensei, correct?"

Uyko was surprised to see the daughter of Seto Kaiba standing in his room. Of all people, who knew Yuma would run into her? "Of course Miss Kaiba. Go right ahead."

Arishia walked deeper into the room. All of the students gazed at her in amazement. Much like their teacher, they couldn't believe Yuma ran into someone like her.

"Mr. Tsukumo here had literally run into my friend Max before I met up with him. Yuma challenged Max to a duel and he accepted. Of course having a duel before school is an invalid excuse for being late, but I managed to see the whole thing. I could easily tell Yuma was a student by his uniform, but I still let the duel unfold," Arishia explained. "I'm fairly certain if I stopped the duel Yuma would've been on time. In this case, I am the one to blame for Yuma's lateness. I hope you would consider excusing Yuma this time."

Uyko smiled at Arishia. "I'm glad that you took the time out of your schedule to personally save Yuma from getting detention. I think I can excuse him this time."

"Allright!" Yuma cheered.

"It's only for today Yuma," Uyko-sensei reminded the boy. "If you're late tomorrow you will get detention."

Yuma chuckled and took note of his warning. He'd make sure to have Kotori wake him so he'd get to school on time.

"If you don't mind me asking Miss Kaiba, is there any reason in particular you are in Heartland today?" Uyko asked.

Arishia's smile turned a bit friendlier, similar to a clerk in a booth at the mall. "There is. I was going to wait until later, but considering I've already interrupted this class I think I'll let you guys be the first to know."

Arishia went on to tell the class about the upcoming tag duel tournament she and Max were going to hold. The class filled with chatter. Some students were already finding their partners for the tournament!

"You should all be able to sign-up sometime in the afternoon up until the day before the tournament," Arishia said. "I think I should be off now. I need to make a quick arrangement so the rest of this school will know about the tournament."

"Can't you stay a little longer?" a student asked.

"It's only a quick arrangement, right? That means it wouldn't hurt to maybe give us a few tips for our dueling!" Takashi suggested.

"Well I'm afraid the arrangement could take longer than I plan," Arishia told Takashi. "But hopefully it won't take too long."

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Hoping and reality were two completely different things. Ideally, Arishia was hoping to meet with the head of the school immediately and he'd approve of her plan with no problems. She was only asking to make an announcement for the tournament during the school's duel period. It couldn't be that hard to agree to.

However, reality loves to make things hard for people. For whatever reason, today was the day when parents wanted to complain about stupid things. A good example was the one parent who wanted her child to be excused from detention because he didn't mean to cheat on the test. Another good example was the other parent who wanted to know how her child could get in trouble from some random girl who doesn't even attend the school. (Arishia was very glad she got the kid suspended.)

Arishia wondered how she managed to keep her cool with idiots like those two and their pointless arguments. But it didn't end there. The secretary seemed to have a problem with letting Arishia see the principal.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" she asked.

"I don't go to this school, or any school for that matter," Arishia answered with clear annoyance.

This pointless Q&A session would have continued for much longer if the principal didn't step into the room. Thankfully, Arishia managed to get the okay for her announcement quickly. She was grateful that part of the plan went smoothly.

There were a few hours before duel period began. Arishia was free to stay in the school until it the period came. The last thing she wanted to do was visit anymore classes. Everyone would want an explanation of why she's there, info on the tournament, and dueling advice. Explaining a tournament three times in one day was more than enough for her. Not to mention that dueling advice was boring. No matter where you went, an experienced duelist will tell someone the same exact advice.

Arishia checked her D-Gazer for the time. First period would be ending soon and getting caught up in a sea of potential fans did not sound like fun.

_I wonder if there's a way up to the roof,_ Arishia thought. _Now, where would that be?_

There couldn't be anywhere better to hide until duel period, right? Who would really go up to the roof on their way to class?

Arishia managed to find the stairwell that led up to the roof of the school a few minutes before first period would end. She expected the roof to be completely empty. Having a great view of the school grounds alone sounded great. However, the area wasn't completely empty.

There were a few large, metal boxes on the roof that were used for various maintenance tasks. A water tower stood on top of the largest box. Leaning against one of the tower's legs was a boy with purple, tentacle-like hair.

"Hey punk, shouldn't you be in class?" Arishia called out.

To Ryoga, school was boring. People were annoying, the duelists were chumps, and every class felt so long. That's why he would come up to the roof to ignore it all. Until now, no one had ever come up here while he was here.

"Oh look, a famous brat with a fake public personality. What a surprise." Ryoga said jokingly.

Arishia chuckled. "It's been a while Ryoga."

He smiled lightly. "I suppose it has been."

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"Thank you very much for your cooperation!" Max said brightly. "As promised, I shall send over the invitations for Battle City for Droite and Gauche before the tag duel tournament or in person as soon as the tournament ends."

"Marvelous! And we will make sure everything is in place by Friday so everything is perfect during the weekend," Mr. Heartland gladly told Max. "Everything should be up on the city's website by this afternoon and measures will be taken so word of this tournament doesn't get out. Is there anything else we can do for you Mr. Pegasus?"

"Not at the moment, but I'll contact you if anything comes up."

Droite and Gauche observed the conversation from afar. Gauche smiled widely and nudged Droite.

"Aren't you excited? We're gonna have a chance to be a part of The Return of Battle City!" Gauche said.

Droite rolled her eyes. "I realize, but how will that competition help _us_. There's nothing that competition could do for us. However, something like Kaito could actually gain something from that."

The doors to the upper level of Heartland's control systems opened up. Gauche smirked. "Well speak of the devil."

"Ah Kaito!" Mr. Heartland greeted. "I was wondering where you were. I'm hoping today was as productive for you as it was for the city! There's a competition being on the weekend. Perhaps it could benefit you."

"Mr. Heartland, I don't think Kaito would want to waste his time with a tournament filled with amateurs," Droite informed. "Mr. Pegasus, would it possible for you to give my invitation to Tenjo Kaito?"

Max shrugged. "I guess so."

"Don't bother," Kaito said as he turned out of the room. "I'll be winning that tournament."

He left the room, finished with what was going on in there. As long as that kid was there, Kaito couldn't give a true report to Heartland (not that he really wanted to). Right now, he had more important issues to think about. Who in Heartland City actually has enough strength to not drag Kaito down in a tag duel?

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Arishia sat next to Ryoga, letting her feet dangle off of the box's edge, and gave her friend a small smile.

"I really am wondering if you should be in class or not."

"I should," Ryoga answered. "School doesn't really interest me."

"It can't be that bad."

"Do you want to go sit in class and listen to the teacher go on about nothing?" Ryoga asked. Arishia responded with a look as if Ryoga would actually force her to go to class. He smirked. "I think I've made my point. So, why are you here?"

"You'll find out later because I'm not explaining it again," Arishia answered. "But I will say it will probably be a pretty big event here in Heartland."

"You're hosting an event here? I'm surprised your dad would let you even near Heartland, let alone host something here."

Arishia glanced over into the city. Even from the school, you could see Heartland Tower in the distance. The last time Arishia saw that tower was seven years ago. She couldn't believe it has been that long. Then again, when you almost lose your life in an explosion how quickly does time seem to move?

"Well, it doesn't matter what his opinion of this city is. I wanted to find some talent here in Heartland," Arishia said. "Besides…"

Ryoga raised an eyebrow as Arishia went silent. Though he knew she thought her words would be stupid, Ryoga couldn't help but be curious of what she had to say.

"Besides what?" he prodded.

Arishia looked into the sky to find her words. "It may sound stupid, but I can't help but feel that it's important for someone to win my tournament and come to Battle City. I can't imagine who though."

_You're throwing a tournament for someone to compete in the next Battle City?_ Ryoga thought, surprised of this news.

"Enough of that. What's new with you?" Arishia asked. "How's Rio?"

"She's a lot better than before," Ryoga answered. "Nothing has actually gone on around here."

"Really? It seems to me that you've got quite the reputation around here."

"How would you know that?"

"I ran into some trouble at a smoothie place not too far from here. The students said something along the lines of 'being almost as bad as Shark'. That wouldn't happen to be you."

"Perhaps." Ryoga smirked. "I suppose I've been a force duelist try to avoid."

"You better," Arishia said. "It'll be a dark day for you if any of these chump duelists around here beat you. I don't think I'd allow that."

The grimace that rested on Ryoga's face didn't escape Arishia. She blinked in disbelief. "You didn't…"

"I did."

It was silent for a moment. Ryoga looked over to Arishia. Her arms were crossed tightly and the knuckles on her hands were white as she tried to prevent taking out her rage on Ryoga.

"Relax," Ryoga told her. "There was a rematch. I beat him without taking as much as a scratch. Did you really think there was someone who could be you? Unlike you, I haven't had any decent competition in the last few years. You're probably a better duelist than me-"

"Shut up!" Arishia snapped. "What's bothering me is that you would allow your dueling to fall that low so someone chump from a stupid middle school could actually beat you! You were the first duelist who came close to beating me. We tied for goodness sake! You're the only person I can consider my rival! Give me one reason why I shouldn't hurt you."

Ryoga didn't answer at first. That story was ludicrous. Arishia would never buy it. Why should she? Does the idea of cards from another dimension taking control of your soul seem like a realistic story?

"To be fair, I would've won that duel if a certain complication didn't happen."

_But if I don't give you the real answer I know you'll never forgive me,_ Ryoga thought. _I don't I'll take the chance of possibly losing someone else I've known for years._

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"There! All of us are signed up!" Takashi told the group. "So we have Yuma and Tetsuo, me and Cathy, and Tokunosuke says he has a partner already planned."

"Perfect!" Yuma cheered. "Let's practice right now! Come on Class rep and Cat-chan, we're dueling righ-" Yuma was distracted as he spotted Shark from a distance. "Wait a second guys."

Yuma ran off to ask Shark a question without a second thought.

"Hey! Yuma!" Kotori called out.

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Ryoga couldn't stop thinking back to his conversation with Arishia earlier today. Was it even possible for the Numbers to exist in this world before he and Yuma had that first duel?

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"_Complication?" Arishia questioned._

_Ryoga nodded. "I was going to win that duel, but something happened. The kid I was dueling with ripped off the pendant around his neck and then the next moment something dark took control of me. That dark energy came from a card I never had before that duel. It's called a Numbers card. I ended up summoning it and then my opponent summoned a different Numbers later, which let him win. Besides the fact the Numbers had control of me, I think my opponent had something helping him out."_

"_Numbers?" Arishia sounded surprised. "Industrial Illusions doesn't make Numbers. Do you still have the card?"_

"_No," Ryoga answered. "Somehow it was taken away from me. I have a suspicion that it was the same thing that help my opponent win the duel."_

"_What were these cards called?"_

"_The one I had was Numbers 17: Leviathan Dragon and the other on is Numbers 39: Arising Emperor Hope."_

_Arishia didn't say anything._

"_Well that's the truth whether or not you believe it. I know it sounds impossible but-"_

"_I believe you Ryoga," Arishia said. "I just can't believe there are more Numbers. I asked Max about that years ago, but there was absolutely none of that within any of Industrial Illusion's databases. We even snuck into his dad's office in search of some hidden notebook or paper, but there was nothing."_

_Ryoga was shocked. "You've seen the Numbers?"_

_Arishia pulled out a card from her deck. "I've had one since I was seven."_

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Ryoga couldn't think of a way that card could have came to this world before his duel with Yuma. Maybe those cards had a lot more power than he thought. Still, why did Arishia have one?

"Shark! Wait up!"

Ryoga almost didn't hear Yuma's voice. Did he call out to him before? He decided it didn't really matter and stopped as Yuma ran up to him.

"What is it?" Ryoga asked.

"Are you competing in Battle City?" Yuma questioned.

"Why would I? I don't have the reputation it takes to get invited to that place."

"Oh." Yuma was surprised. He forgot what happened the last time Shark competed in an official dueling tournament. "Hey, maybe you should compete in Kaiba Arishia's and Pegasus Max's Tag Duel Tournament on the weekend! It'd be awesome if you could make it into Battle City."

"That would create a lot more competition for you. Besides, I'm not interested in standing out in the public right now," Ryoga said. "I will go toward dueling in my own way."

Yuma smiled. "I see."

"Later." Ryoga walked to his bike only a few feet away and drove off.

Yuma's friends ran up to him after he ran off so suddenly. Yuma turned around to them with a large smiled. "Alright! Let's duel!"

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A/N: It's been a long time since I last updated this. I'm probably not going to get around to this story too much until Spring. I really want this story to be good, so I'll probably do a lot of pre-planning (which I don't do when I write unless forced to in school). Any tips and criticism are welcomed!

Also, I will be using moments and duels from the anime in the future. Of course, I won't be writing any episodes into chapters unless major changes are made or if there's any character development. (And if a chapter is just character development I will update the following chapter in the same day) I'll making sure to put what episodes I used (and detail if it's a certain moment) in my notes at the end of the chapter.

I also may use some quotes in my writing, as long as it doesn't take up minutes in the anime. (Fun fact: That last part from Shark was from the beginning of episode 26)

I hope you all enjoyed!


	4. Chapter 4

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_Arrangements For Victory! The Tag Duel Tournament Only Days Away!_

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Ryoga tried his best to stop thinking about Arishia's Number card. At the moment, his main concern was whether or not the girl was possessed by the monster. She didn't seem to be, but would things change if they were in a duel?

Ryoga's thoughts were interrupted by a card that came out of nowhere. With quick reflexes, he caught the card and pulled over to search the area to see where it had been thrown. It wasn't too hard to see that the card sent from a building currently under construction right next to him.

Ryoga jumped off his bike and raced to the location the card was thrown from. It seemed like no one was there, but he was wrong.

"Hello there Ryoga."

The duelist turned around to see a familiar face smirking at him. Just one look at that face made pure rage boil inside him.

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Astral observed Yuma as he dueled. The spirit decided these duels without the Numbers were the ones he could stay out of. These were the opportunities Yuma had to improve on his own. The boy couldn't always rely on Astral for every duel (not that he listened in first place, even when the spirit was right). More importantly, Astral needed a strong partner to aid him in the search for the Numbers. If he had his way, Yuma wouldn't have been the spirit's first choice. However, they were stuck together, but as each day passed Astral would grieve about that less and less.

"Alright _Gagaga Magician_, attack him directly!" Yuma ordered.

The magician flew over to Takashi's side of the field and attacked the class rep, causing his life points to fall to 2000.

"Nice one Yuma!" Tetsuo cheered. He had to admit that his friend has improved tremendously in dueling. Maybe there was actually a spirit in Yuma's pendant that was helping him out.

"Thanks!" Yuma said. "I'll end- huh?"

Yuma stare at the virtual pop-up that appeared in front of him. It looked like someone was requesting access to view the duel. It was most likely the school system interfering with the D-Gazer of someone who was passing by. If your D-Gazer wasn't registered in the school data base, you weren't allowed to view the duel without a student or teacher's okay. It was something about student privacy Yuma never understood.

The pop-up disappeared within a few seconds. Yuma shrugged it off and decided to end his turn.

"What was that Yuma?" Takashi asked.

"I think someone's D-Gazer just picked up on our duel," Yuma answered. "Alright! I'll end my-"

"Hey Yuma!"

The boy turned around to see the famous face that called out his name. Yuma's face lit up and waved to Max Pegasus. "Hey!"

"Whoa! Is that really Pegasus's son?" Tetsuo asked in disbelief.

"Yeah! We dueled earlier today. Didn't you listen to Arishia's story?"

Max jogged up to the Yuma and his friends crowded around. "How'd it go this morning in class? Did Arishia manage to get you out of trouble?"

Yuma smiled. "Yep!"

"That's great!" Max smiled. "Not that I doubted her. She really does have a way with negotiations."

"Max-san, may I ask what you're doing here?" Kotori spoke.

"Please, there's no need for honorfics. I barely remember half of them. Okay sweetheart?" Max said. Kotori nodded and tried to hide the light blush that crept on her face. "I wanted to make sure everything worked out for Yuma. I was also wondering if any of you signed up for the tag duel tournament."

"Of course we did! We're practicing right now!" Yuma said.

"That's what I was hoping for! I hope you don't mind, but I tapped into your duel. Arishia mentioned that this was your school and I figured you'd duel after school. I just had to make sure it was you," Max told Yuma.

"You hacked the system?" Takashi was impressed. He didn't know anyone else could manage to get passed the school's security.

Max chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Well Arishia taught me everything I know. She's a lot better than I am."

"Come on! Give yourself some credit! It's awesome hacking into the system!" Yuma praised. "Now, let's get back to our duel!"

Takashi and Cathy hurried back to their side of the field and the AR vision was reestablished. It was still Yuma's turn, although he was ready to end it. At the moment he had 2800 life points, Tetsuo had 3000, Cathy had 2500, and Takashi had 2000.

"Let's get this started, again!" Yuma shouted.

"Yeah, let's start by ending your turn already," Tetsuo said sarcastically.

"You're gonna end your turn now?" Max asked as he examined Yuma's cards.

Yuma jumped. He didn't see Max looming over his shoulder. "Um, yeah? That's what I was planning." He was uncertain about that now.

"Take another look at your cards. Even though you do have a monster on your field your opponent can easily crush it on their next turn. It would be smart to leave a face down to protect it," Max explained.

Yuma looked down at his cards. He wasn't sure what Max was getting at, but then he spotted _Bye Bye Damage_. "I set one card face down and end my turn."

Yuma glance over to Max to see if he made the right move. Judging by the smile, Yuma thought he did what Max intended.

"My turn, draw!" Cathy announced. The girl examined her cards to see what move to make next, but it didn't seem like she had a good move. Yuma managed to send both of her _Stray Cats,_ which ruined her original combo.

"You know, sometimes you have to make last-second tactics during a duel. It's not always the best to solely rely on the same tactics all of the time." Max said as he hovered over Cathy's cards. "_Monster Reborn_ might help in this situation, depending what's in the graveyard."

Cathy's eyes widened as she saw a new move to make. "First, I summon _Cat Girl_ in attack mode! Next, I activate the card _Monster Reborn_ to bring back my _Stray Cat Girl _from the graveyard!"

As said, the first monster appeared onto the field as the second rose from the graveyard portal. The others could see where this was going. Although neither of the monsters had enough attack points to bring down _Gagaga Magician_, they were both rank four monsters.

"Now, I'll use these two monsters to build the Overlay Network!" The red portal spawned as the two monsters turned into energy to bring out a new monster. "I summon _Cat Girl Magician_!"

A girl with her long purple haired tied into a pony tail appeared onto the field. She adjusted her hat, which had to cat-like eyes on each side.

"Remember, Yuma still has his face down," Max sung.

"Right," Cathy acknowledge. "I activate _Cat Girl Magician's_ special effect! By detaching one overlay unit, I can half my monster's attack points and attack you directly! Go _Cat Magician Girl_, attack Yuma directly!"

Max smiled as he continued to help the other duelists. He didn't intend to do this when he came here, but he saw what Yuma could do on that turn. It would've been cheating if he didn't help out the other duelists as well.

The duel continued as Max gave small tips to the four duelists on protecting their monsters and saving their life points. Eventually, each duelist began to fall. First it was Takashi, then Tetsuo, and finally Cathy, which left Yuma and Tetsuo the victors of the tag duel.

Takashi checked his D-Gazer for the time. "Wow! That duel lasted pretty long."

"That's because you guys were dueling well," Max told the class rep. "All the saves you guys make drags out the duel, but that's a good thing if you want to win."

"That was awesome Max!" Yuma cheered. "You really helped us a lot!"

Max blushed lightly and began dismissing his contributions. "I wasn't that much of a help! I'm sure you guys would've come up with these tactics on your own. I just made it more obvious."

"God, you're way too humble about this!" Tetsuo complained. "Take some pride in what you do!"

Max persistently told the group that he didn't help them all that much. How could anyone gain anything from an awful duelist like him? The others constantly disagreed. How _couldn't_ they have gained anything from a _great_ duelist like him?

Yuma, however, was distracted by Astral.

"The boy may have doubt in himself, but he aided all of you greatly in your dueling abilities," the spirit said. "It would benefit all of you if you could convince him to stop by once again. We will need all the help we can get if we are to make it into Battle City. Who knows what kind of competition could appear at the tag duel tournament?"

For once, Yuma agreed with Astral completely. Besides the logical aspect, it would be awesome if the Max Pegasus would help Yuma and his friend not only train for the tournament, but become better duelists.

"Hey Max!" Yuma shouted over the crowd. "Would you please train with us for prep in the tag duel tournament?"

Max was taken aback by this request. "Y-you really want _me _to help you guys? But, as I've said-"

"I don't care what you think about your dueling skills! You're a great duelist whether or not you say so!" Yuma told the boy. "I don't care if you don't think you're helping us. I still want you to do it!"

"My help…" Max thought aloud. No one has ever wanted his advice in dueling. People would always ask for rare cards or sneak-peaks at the latest set, but this was new.

Max beamed at Yuma. "You got yourself a deal!"

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Shark leaned against his bike with his arms crossed and stared out into the stormy skies. He needed to get all of his thoughts straightened out.

_First Arishia come out of nowhere and somehow has a Numbers card. And then there's IV. That bastard. After all these years he's still not done with me. He set me up and he hurt Rio. He will pay for that. _

_But the only chance I'll have to settle this is in Battle City and he's the one with the invitation, not me. I need to get into that competition, _Shark thought.

He turned back to his bike. It was best to get home before this storm started. However, Shark stopped as he spotted someone in the alley.

Kaito saw someone too, but he couldn't place a name on him.

_Ah, he's that duelist who was protecting Yuma's key,_ he remembered. _Shark? Is that what Yuma called him?_

_Can he see me?_ Shark wondered. From the current angle it would look like the two couldn't see each other. Besides, it did look like the hunter was on one of his trips.

Even if he had just finished his business, Kaito felt the urge to stay put for a little longer. That competition was coming up and so far there wasn't a soul Kaito would even consider as a partner. Although he had beaten Shark, the boy was a talented duelist. He could've underestimated Kaito in that duel at first and he was under the Numbers' influence for some time. Or maybe he's just lost his touch. Regardless…

As much as he didn't want to do this, Shark needed a partner for the Tag Duel Tournament. There was no way he would ever have one of those chump duelist from school to be his partner. He wondered how he would convince Kaito to agree to this.

_So, you can see me,_ Kaito thought. _If this is a duel, it'll have to wait-_

_Until Battle City,_ Shark prepared. _There will be plenty of duelists there. I'm sure a handful of them would possess Number cards. Perhaps I'll have one by the finals. It would just make it easier for you to track it down that way._

Shark stood on the edge of the alley and stared at Kaito, who returned the stern look. Somehow, they knew their plans would work out.

"Look, if it's a duel you're looking for, we'll settle it later," Kaito said.

"Good, I had the same plan," Ryoga told him. "I was thinking we'd settle during The Return of Battle City. You wouldn't happen to have an invitation to the event, would you?"

"No, and I'm guessing you don't either. It looks like we have the same idea." Kaito threw a D-pad toward Shark.

Ryoga caught the device and studied the screen. It was a registration form. He quickly filled it out and tossed it back to Kaito.

"Normally, I'd never do this," Shark told Kaito. "But it looks like there's no other way."

"It looks like we'll be partners until then," Kaito said.

Shark smirked. "Just don't get in my way."

Kaito returned the smirk. "As long as you stay out of mine."

The hunter took off to the skies and Shark hopped on his bike and made a leave of his own.

The rain began, slamming on the streets and buildings of Heartland City. A lightening strike hit a tree already weakened by the water's force.

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Arishia stared out of the window of her and Max's hotel room. So far, it looked like everything was going according to plan. There were already plenty of registrations coming in for the Tag Duel Tournament. Hopefully, there was actually great duelist here as she thought.

"I hope this storm isn't foreshadowing something about our tournament," Max said. He sat backwards on a chair and stared out the window as well.

"I think you're looking at this the wrong way," Arishia told him.

"When is a storm a good thing?"

"When you win something by storm. Honestly, I'm waiting for the tag team that works like rain and lightning. One of them drastically weakens the opponents and then the lightning gives the finishing blow."

Max smiled. "Optimistic. That's a nice change."

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The storm from the previous day cleared up. There was barely a drop of water to be seen.

As promised, Max visited Yuma and his friends everyday afterschool to help them with their dueling. The Pegasus boy was impressed how much everyone has grown in such a short time.

Astral would watch this training. He too was impressed by the progress made by these duelists in such a short time. Mainly, he focused on Yuma. Although the boy has improved, there was still room for perfection. But he has grown tremendously since his first duel with Shark. Astral was proud with Yuma's progress.

Today was the final day of training. Max carefully watched the two teams in their final exam. He hadn't made a single comment for this entire duel. It was time to see how much they could do without him.

"Go _Melomelo Melody_! Attack Cathy directly!"

The brass djinn giggled as it charged the instrument it sat on. Once the ray was charged, a blast of music was sent out to Cathy causing her life points to hit zero.

"Now, I detach one overlay unit from _Melomelo Melody_ to attack again! Now, attack Class Rep's _Vaccingale_!"

_Under normal circumstances this move would not work,_ Astral examined. Vaccingale's_ attack points start at 1800 while _Melomelo Melody's_ are only 1400. However, _Vaccingale's_ attack points have been lowered by 800 points due to Tetsuo's move last turn. And since the monster has no more overlay units, Yuma used the opportunity at its best to win the duel._

Another music blast was launched and it hit Vaccingale. Takashi was blown back by the force and hit the ground, his life points dropping to zero.

A horn rang for Yuma and Tetsuo's victory over Takashi and Cathy and the AR vision began to fade away. Max smiled as everyone gathered in for his words.

"I must say, you've improved a lot throughout this week," the Pegasus boy said. "Now, I don't know how good the competition is going to be at the tournament, but I think you all stand a good chance for the finals."

"Do you think one of us could win?" Takashi asked.

"Of course we can!" Yuma interrupted. "We've got this competition in the bag."

Max laughed. "With that spirit, I'm sure one of your will diffidently make it to The Return of Battle City. Just make sure to show off your Kattobingu!"

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered.

"Then it's decided! I'll see you guys tomorrow, at the Tag Duel Tournament!"

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A/N: First off, the first break follows Episode 26, 4:50-6:50 when IV reveals the truth about the competition he and Ryoga competed in before.

Hey now! I'm back with this story. Remember when I said I'd start up again in the spring? Well, I meant late May and then came June and I basically died that month. But I'm back now!

I'm super excited to continue writing this story. How is it so far? Is there anyone you're looking forward to see? Maybe you're all fans of the Tron family. (*wink wink*)

One last note for future chapters. Technically, everyone is speaking Japanese throughout the story. However, Max's first language is English and there's going to be moments where he'll just speak English. I think it would be annoying to put _Max said in English_ multiple time during the story, so whenever anyone speaks English I'll do this:

"*English," someone said.

I was going to do it with italics, but I also use that for emphasis and the names of the cards. It would be confusing. I hope the asterisk will be fine in the future.

I hope you all enjoyed!


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